The Sense of Magic
by CooKoo
Summary: The rating is for safety's sake. Changes are being made. Similar to "The Sound of Music", Ginny's coerced into being the governess of five children. Please, read and review! It'll be greatly appreciated.
1.

The Sense of Magic

Summary: Ginny is going to be the governess of 5 children. Why? Who? When? What is that Slytherin doing in this fic? And what is Ginny going to do with 5 children? Need I tell you? R&R!!

Disclaimer: Oops! Forgot this earlier. Sadly, the recognizable characters are not mine. The foundation of the plot cannot really be called mine, either. But the idea of combining the characters from Harry Potter and the plot of the other story IS mine!!! Please respect that as I am respecting the rights of the people who DO own the characters, setting, and basic-est storyline.

            "What should we do?" Hermione cried at two of her best friends. "It's been months now, and she still hasn't…recovered…"

            "Hermione," Harry soothed. "Give her more time. NONE of us have recovered. Is it even possible to recover from losing a sibling?"

            "TWO siblings," Ron butted in. "We lost TWO siblings, and they're the two that were always here to cheer us up when we were down. Of_ course_ none of us have much cheer in us, now. It's not just Gin."

            "And she was the one who was caring for them," Harry added. "SHE was the one doctoring them from the moment they arrived. She worked endlessly for weeks so that they might survive! She has a good reason to be a little withdrawn."

            "I KNOW all of this!" Hermione exclaimed. "But it hurts to see my best friend hurting so much. We're all hurting, but Ginny's hurting the most. I don't think it's just the disappearance of the twins!"

            "She _has_ been down in the dumps…" Mrs. Weasley added, entering the room and the conversation.

            "She's been depressed and quiet for quite some time," Bill followed his mother. "It's all of the people she's lost."

            "What do you MEAN?" Hermione exclaimed. "We've ALL lost friends and family. This cursed war has taken its toll from everyone."

            "But she has been stitching people up, cleaning up vomit, and washing away blood from everyone," Charlie walked in, wearing a worried frown. "She's a medic and she's seen more than her share of deaths."

            "Another thing," Percy reminded the gathering as he meandered into the room. "She just lost another child."

            "You can't mean the newborn she was planning to adopt?" Mr. Weasley murmured, surprising everyone as they hadn't heard him enter. "The baby of Gin's old school mate who had died in childbirth? She had nursed the baby so lovingly…"

            "That's it," Hermione whispered.

            "What's it?" all the Weasleys (minus the one whom they're discussing, plus a Potter) asked.

            "She needs a break from healing…" Hermione was still lost in thought.

            "But we NEED all of the healers we have," Ron refuted, "and she's one of the best in the world."

            "But do you want her to lose it all?" Harry argued. "She NEEDS to stop for awhile. She has to want to FIGHT. Haven't you noticed? She's lost her WILL."

            "Did you know," Hermione continued to whisper. "She's given up using the wards against infection for herself? She's even stopped taking the basic potions to boost her immune system and her strength. She's just given up…But how to make her stop trying to heal the world…"

            "Children," Mrs. Weasley suggested. "We all agree that Ginny's lost her will to live. What better way to remind her why to keep fighting than giving her children?"

            "Are you saying we should choose a bloke for her to marry and to impregnate her?!" Ron hollered.

            "Of course," Mrs. Weasley said, sarcastically.

            Ron didn't catch the sarcasm, though, and started to hyperventilate. Luckily for him, others had caught on and hurriedly assured him that his mother had not meant what he thought.

            "That would take too long, anyhow," Hermione said, logically. "What we need are some healthy children who would be capable of distracting and enchanting Ginny."

            "Where to find them, though?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

            Just then, an owl flew into one of the windows of the room. Charlie hastened to the poor thing and relieved it of its burden and pulled out his wand and an Owl Treat. After he was sure the owl was okay, he finally noticed his family's annoyance with him and he opened the envelope. Everyone jumped when Charlie's hair turned purple.

            "Fred! George!" he yelled, knowing it was them and tearing the sheet of paper within the envelope. "The bas-"

            "CHARLES WEASLEY!!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed. "YOU DO **NOT** USE SUCH WORDS IN THE PRESENCE OF LADIES. YOU ESPECIALLY DO NOT SPEAK OF YOUR FAMILY IN SUCH A MANNER!!"

            "Sorry, Mum!" Charlie apprehensively apologized. "I really didn't mean it!"

            "Just read the letter!" the other Weasleys (plus a Potter) screamed.

            "Okay, okay!" Charlie cried. "It says,

'Dear Ginny,

If you're not Ginny, we're sorry we turned

your hair purple, but you should have seen

it was for our sister, not YOU. If you ARE

Ginny, we just wanted to remind you why

we are your favorite brothers. If you're not

Ginny, STOP READING THIS. If you are

Ginny, we have a favor to ask of you. Our

friend has called in a debt. Sadly, it

requires taking care of his children, and we

are not up to the task. Please, Ginny, dear.

Will you consider taking the job? It'll only

take a month of your time. Please, darling,

baby sister? For your favorite brothers? The

thing in the little bag in the envelope is a

Portkey. It'll take you to the house of our

friend. PLEASE? Do this for us, your best

friends and your favorite brothers? PLEASE?

Thanks!

Love from your favorite brothers,

Feorge and Gred'

They always DID have trouble with compositions."

            Charlie passed the letter to his mother, who was glaring at her son. As she looked the letter over, she started to cry. "My babies…my babies…They left us a postscript." Overcome with tears, she couldn't continue for a minute. "It says, 'P.S. Sorry for the mistakes in our letter. Whoever you are, tell the family we love them. Tell them we must be desperately missed and not to worry!!!'" Here, Mrs. Weasley completely broke down and wailed. "'Not to worry!' What a joke…"

            Ginny herself walked into the room at that point. "Mum." she asked softly, automatically going to her mother to check for a wound. "What's wrong?!"

            "Oh, my sweet babies…" Mrs. Weasley continued to cry, pulling Ginny and whomever else was close enough into her arms.

            After Mrs. Weasley gained control of her tears, she handed Ginny the letter from the twins. When she recognized the handwriting and the handiwork of Charlie's new 'do, she smiled for the first time in ages. As she read the letter, she looked up at her family. "I can't." she whispered wearily. "I can't. I need to work. I can't care for children…"

            Smiling, Mrs. Weasley urged her to finish reading the letter before deciding.  At the letter's end, Ginny's face cracked into another smile, but her eyes remained sad this time. "I can't…" she whispered. "I'm sorry…"

            "Dear," Mrs. Weasley interrupted. "Please. Consider this for you brothers. Think of this as a vacation. You deserve one. No one else has worked so hard or so much. You haven't rested since before your graduation years ago. Please?"

            "Mum…" Ginny whined. "I can't…" Seeing her mother's baleful glare, she added, "I'll consider it…"

            "How in Merlin's name did I let them convince me to do this?" Ginny asked herself, when she found herself too tired to fend off her family. "And why did they ALL insist I do this? They treated Fred and George's note as if it were exactly what they prayed for. Sure, it was a message from them, telling us that they're fine, but they're all so anxious to see me gone! If I weren't so tired..."

            The Portkey had transported her to the front lawn of a huge property. After she was finished muttering to herself about her family's strange behavior and wiping particles of who-knows-what from her clothes, she looked up and gasped. The manor house was enormous and rather daunting looking. Taking a step back, she almost fell into the lake behind her. There was a path to the large wooden doors, and Ginny slowly trudged up the path with her baggage. It took her minutes to reach the steps to the front doors where she miserably sighed. Gathering whatever remained of the old Ginny, she raised a hand, picked up the large brass knocker, and let it fall with a bang.

            The door opened and she popped up, saying "Hello!" to what appeared to be the butler. He opened the door for her and let her in, before she could introduce herself. With a "Please wait here," the man left her in the large and elegantly decorated foyer. Unable to resist, Ginny walked to a set of doors and opened them to a dark and dusty room. Before she could step into it and satisfy her curiosity, she heard someone clearing his throat. With a jump, she turned around and was a little shocked when she saw the man she least expected to see.

            "Miss…Weasley, I believe?" he said. Upon her nod, he continued, smugly. "Yes, I thought so. Even though you have covered your hair, the state of your robes and your freckles are still enough to give you away."

            "Well," she huffed.  
            Before she could finish huffing, Blaise Zabini interrupted her. "You should listen to what people tell you. When Franz told you to remain in the foyer, you should have remained there. Fortunately for you, I am in a tolerant mood and you weren't found by your new employer. I am here as a friend and advisor. I shall endeavor to help you in your first efforts as the governess of this brood."

            "Excuse me," Ginny finally got in. "Why are you here?"

            "I just explained that, Miss Weasley. I'm here to insure your safety and continued employment. He hates trying to locate new governesses. If I remember rightly, you're the…fifty-second governess these children have had in the past six months."

            With a weary sigh, Ginny followed the former Slytherin warily into the foyer. "Are you joshing me?! FIFTY-SECOND? What is WRONG with the children?"

            "There is nothing wrong with the children, only the governesses," a sharp voice cut in. "They all lacked the discipline to control my children."

            "Bloody hell," Ginny muttered under her breath before turning around. "Please, not him. Please…"

            Raising her eyes to meet his hard, gray ones, Ginny groaned. As she had feared from his drawl, it WAS 'him.' How she managed to recognize his voice after all these years, she doesn't know. Already exhausted, she resignedly met her new employer, Draco Malfoy.

Author's Note: So! What do you think? Please tell me!!!!!!!!! If it's awful and I should stop right now, TELL ME! I don't want to waste my time writing something that no one wants to read. If you liked it, TELL ME! I'd like to know that I'm not wasting my time writing this. Please, review!!!!!!!! It only takes a couple of minutes, even if you're on a slower computer. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm **_BEGGING_** YOU. If there are corrections that need to be made, please tell me. I'll go over this later, if any of you care enough to review and tell me someone read this. I'll make corrections then! Thanks. More thanks to anyone who is planning to review. PLEASE??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By the way, the plot is not ENTIRELY mine. I do not claim what belongs to the movie that inspired me or what belongs to the owners of all things Harry Potter, but A LOT OF THE STUFF IS MINE, TOO! And someone's smart and already realized what movie…Wow.


	2. 

The Sense of Magic

Summary: Ginny is going to be the governess of 5 children. Why? Who? When? What is that Slytherin doing in this fic? And what is Ginny going to do with 5 children? Need I tell you? R&R!!

Disclaimer: Oops! Forgot this earlier. Sadly, the recognizable characters are not mine. The foundation of the plot cannot really be called mine, either. But the idea of combining the characters from Harry Potter and the plot of the other story IS mine!!! Please respect that as I am respecting the rights of the people who DO own the characters, setting, and basic-est storyline.

"Hmmmmm…" Malfoy said. "I guess I should start on my quest for another governess. You don't look like you'll be here for long. I pray that you will be an improvement upon the last one, however. She stayed less than a quarter of an hour after meeting my children." Walking around her, he added. "Hat off! You should know better. Or didn't your mother teach you?" Before she could say anything in defense of her upbringing and her mother, he continued. "And what is that atrocious thing you are wearing? You must change your…clothes…before you meet the children."

"This is the only set of robes I have, Mal-sir," Ginny said, as politely as she could. "I have been caring for patients in isolation and most of my robes have to remain in the isolation unit or be burned. I'm sorry that I did not have the time to purchase any new robes. I tried to arrive as soon as possible. I did not think my wardrobe would cause you such concern. If it does, I'll order some material and sew some new robes. It's not all that difficult."

"_You_ would know, wouldn't you?" Malfoy smirked. "Please, _I'll_ order the material. Merlin knows what your taste runs to. If I am displeased with the robes you sew, you will pay for the material AND the robes that I will then have to choose for you. As it is, you have to meet the children dressed as you are."

With that, Malfoy drew out a whistle. Sending a shrill call through the air that utterly shocked Ginny, Malfoy continued to whistle when bangs and stomps could be heard from another level of the building. With military-like precision, four children in identical clothes clearly meant to be uniforms marched down the stairs, their boots loud against the marble. Ginny stared in surprise. The procession would be perfect, except that there was a gap between the first two children and the last two children. With a final whistle, the four children turned and stopped in a perfect line in front of the stairs that led down to the foyer. They all waited in silence as Malfoy looked around. Sighting his goal, he grimaced a little. Ginny turned, worried for the object of his attention. What she saw was a young boy making his way slowly from another room with a book in his hand. He started up the stairs before realizing someone was glaring a hole into his back. Turning slowly, he looked guiltily at his father and quickly made his way to what was obviously his place in line. Handing the book to his father, he turned and bent over slightly. Giving him a small whack on the bottom with the book, Malfoy watched expressionlessly as he got into position.

"Miss," Malfoy started. When he didn't say anything else but started snapping his fingers at her, Ginny jumped, realizing what he wanted.

"Ginny," she supplied.

"Miss Ginny," Malfoy began again, "is your new governess." Seeing that he was raising his whistle, Ginny winced. "When you hear your signal, step forward and state your name."

Ginny flinched as he gave a series of short, sharp notes. They were followed by a couple of ordered stomps as the first child, a girl, stepped out of the line. Saying "Martina," she stepped back into her place with a few more stomps. This performance was repeated with the other children as they stomped forward and stated their names: Adrian, Galen, Ivory, and Cassius.

"Now," Malfoy drawled after the strange presentation, "Let's see how well you listened."

Handing her a whistle, he expectantly waited, a smirk on his face.

"But Mal-sir…" she stammered, "You can't mean for me to WHISTLE for your children as if they are dogs!"

"Of course I do. The grounds are extensive and you cannot scream for my children as if you were a madwoman. This has been the system, and it will remain as it is. You will not only USE the whistle I provide you with, you will also answer to a call. This is the sound you will answer to."

With that, he started to blow a shrill call that gave Ginny a horrible headache. After he finished, he turned around without a glance and started to leave the room. An unbelievably piercing sound filled the building. Turning around slowly, Malfoy was surprised to see the youngest Weasley staring innocently at him. Raising a brow, he silently questioned her.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know _your_ signal," she answered innocently.

"You may call me 'Malfoy.'" With that, he turned on his heel once again and exited with his robes billowing grandly.

With a small smile, Ginny turned to her new charges. As stunning as seeing Malfoy was, seeing his children was even MORE surprising. They were all so young, and they all seemed so perfect. Even the little boy who had been reading and late to join the procession was standing ramrod straight, staring at nothing. Their rigid stances and seeming perfection were completely unnerving Ginny. With a larger smile, she approached the children.

"Please, be at ease," she began. The children only parted their feet, still in perfect position. "Will each of you please step forward once again? And will you please tell me how old you are as well as your names?"

Stomp, stomp. "I am Martina. I am twelve-years-old. I do NOT need a governess." Stomp, stomp.

"That's wonderful. I'll just be your friend," Ginny replied.

Stomp, stomp. "I'm Adrian. I'm ten-years-old. I'm incorrigible!"

"Congratulations." Ginny smiled, tiredly.

"…What's incorrigible…?" Adrian asked, a bit uncertain.

"It means you want to be what you are." Seeing his reassured nod, Ginny smiled again.

"I'm Galen…" the little boy shyly stated. "I'm turning this old," he continued, holding up eight fingers.

Not to be outdone, the girl next to him held up six fingers. "And you're Ivory, aren't you?" Ginny asked sweetly seeing the adorable girl nod eagerly.

Feeling a tug on her robes, Ginny turned to look at the youngest child. "I Cass-i-us," he stated proudly. "I oldest!" Holding up all the fingers on one hand, he smirked at his siblings. Realizing he forgot something, he also stomped, rather loudly, on the hard marble floor. All of the children crowded around the tired Ginny, stomping and pulling on her robes.

Zabini suddenly popped up, interrupting. "It's time for you five to go outside while your new governess gets settled."

As the children walked slowly to the door, Zabini tugged at Ginny's luggage. She had only brought one suitcase and a long, narrow box. Unwilling to release the box, she allowed him to take the suitcase and followed him toward the stairs. When he turned expectantly at the foot of them, she also turned. Slowly, she met the gaze of the children. Martina looked smug about something, Adrian looked a little worried, Galen looked downright nervous, and the youngest two were innocently, but eagerly waiting for something to happen. Feeling something moving in her robe, Ginny calmly looked down and met the ugliest toad she had ever seen. Sighing, she picked up the toad with one hand and put it on Martina's head. With a "thank you," she turned to walk up the stairs in front of an amused Zabini. The children stood there, at a complete loss for words…

Reaching her rooms and thanking Zabini for his assistance, Ginny locked the door and collapsed onto her bed. Sighing, she tiredly sat there, without moving. She should feel…something. A short time ago, she would have laughed at the ingeniousness of her young charges. She would have felt angry at being manipulated into caring for MALFOY's children. She would have been outside, trying to repay the children for their thoughtful gift. What had happened? What IS happening?

Outside, the ingenious children were wondering what had gone wrong. Their governess had not reacted at all. Martina was mad that her plan had failed, Adrian was wondering if they would have better luck with the next one, Galen looked glad, upsetting Martina even more, and the youngest two were crying. They had been looking forward to having their newest friend scream with joy at their wonderful present. All the other women had…

Malfoy had watched from behind a shadow, as bemused as his children as to why the female had not reacted suitably. That toad had been disgusting, and every woman he knew would have fainted at the sight of it. Malfoy smirked at the memory of his oldest daughter's face when the youngest Weasley thanked her. It probably wasn't all that surprising that she didn't mind odious toads. After all, she was related to so many of them. He doubted that the Weaslette would be able to survive for long, however. She had won the first battle, but the war was far from over. The Weasleys may have a lot of faith in their sister (and some may be deserved), but his little devils had not gotten rid of so many governesses by smiling sweetly.

Throughout the day, Ginny found even more surprises. As she sat on pinecones, found herself tripping when her shoelaces were knotted together, and walked through doorways followed by various objects hitting her in various parts of the body, she began to feel nostalgic. Fred and George had always played similar tricks on her. Of course, they grew more creative as they invented more pranks and learned more magic tricks. Still, she couldn't help but remember her favorite, or least favorite, of her brothers' tricks. They had all combined their talents and pin money to contribute to Ginny's birthday present one year. She had woken up that day, excited to open her presents. Going to fix her hair, she had screamed in horror upon finding blonde where there was supposed to be red.

Her entire family had rushed into the room, worried. When her brothers say her in front of the mirror, they turned tail and ran. Chasing after them, screaming bloody murder, she had spent her last birthday with all of her brothers present "hating" them. Of course, they redeemed themselves by presenting her with the best presents they could afford. By the time she was heading for bed, they had all made up. Even with her blonde hair, her mood couldn't be dampened. Even though Harry hadn't gotten her a present (he and Ron gave her a "joint" present), she was happy that every Weasley (honorary included) had been here to celebrate her happy day. Laying down, she was surprised when her head hit a hard item: a book. Turning on her bedside lamp, she saw red as she read the title: Blonde Jokes for (Blonde) Dummies. After that, the Weasley twins always turned her hair different colors whenever they thought to.

Author's Note: How's this chapter? PLEASE, **REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


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